Our biking itinerary made a giant loop totaling 30 kilometers.   The excursion took two hours of actual cycling but lasted four to five hours because we were compelled to stop and explore the marvelous points of interest, as well as, eat lunch at a seaside fish taverna.  

The first antiquity we came upon was the Nike Trophy, a reconstructed marble obelisk located near the spot where in 490 B.C. the Athenians amazingly defeated the Persians even though outnumbered three to one.   (Nike means “victory” in Greek).   In contrast to trophies in battles between the Greek city-states in which the armor of the defeated was hung on a tree trunk, the trophies of the Persian Wars were grandiose monuments. 

The bike route runs through an agricultural area entirely flat and minimally trafficked.  We pedaled past fields of cabbage big as basketballs and broccoli with sprawling leaves fit for a rain forest.   We saw fire engine red tomatoes, orange orchards and vineyards looking forlorn with grapes no longer adorning their vines.   Farmers sold fresh produce at colorful roadside vegetable stands. 

Eventually we arrived at the grassy enclosure of the Marathon Tomb (entry fee three euros).  The Greek soldiers’ burial had been lost to history until 1890 when it was rediscovered, excavated and now rises as a swollen green mound (“soros”).  This is the precise spot where 10,000 Athenians and 1000 allies from Plateia in central Greece defeated the mightiest super power of the day, the 30,000 “immortals” of the Persian army who prior thereto had only once before been vanquished in war.   The battle lasted an hour and resulted in the deaths of 6400 Persians and only 192 Greeks.   The enormous confidence enveloping the Athenians by their colossal victory gave them the greatness necessary to create all the extraordinary elements by which they gave birth to Western Civilization.   

From the Tomb it is a quick fifteen minute ride further inland to the Archaeology Museum of Marathon.   One usually thinks of museums in an urban setting but this one is located in an isolated rural environment where tranquility reigns.   The prize of the museum is the original Ionic capital of the Nike Trophy.   Also exhibited in the small building are pottery from the Cave of Pan and impressive four meter high “kouros” statues from a nearby Egyptian sanctuary.    The remnants of that ancient sanctuary lie along the coast in Nea Makri and that is the next destination we biked to upon leaving the museum.

It was glorious to reach the Aegean Sea and bike along the wide coastal walkway that stretched from Nea Makri to Marathon’s sea front about eight kilometers away.   En route you could glimpse the Egyptian sanctuary through a locked gate but there were only archaic foundations, no marble statuary.   Next to it lie the ruins of a 3rd century AD villa built for the Roman Herodus Atticus, but also inaccessibly gated.   Families and couples were strolling along the sidewalk, some jogging, a few brave souls swimming and many feasting at the outdoor tavernas with front row seats to the sea.   

We finally made it back to the Schinias Rowing Center but there was still light in the day and we had not exhausted ourselves.   So we continued eastward to the Schinias National Park, a rare aquatic ecosystem in Attika consisting of thirteen square kilometers of springs, swamps, streams, a lake and pine forested beach front.    We climbed the tall ranger tower to admire the magnificent view of the sea and mountains in the distance; here birdwatchers seek a glimpse of over one hundred species inhabiting the park, along with foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, rabbits, reptiles, turtles and frogs.   Biking on dirt paths in the wetlands, not a soul in sight, at times it honestly felt like we were hundreds of miles from civilization, be it modern or ancient.  

By Colleen McGuire

Managing Director of cyclegreece.gr

Admittedly, we landed at one in the afternoon, but still, I had just spent several days cycling from morning to dusk in Crete, so even though I was accustomed to a mid-day sun, Gavdos was of another order. 

The island is only ten kilometers long and five kilometers wide which makes it bikeable in its entirety in less than a day.   The heat and hills probably account for why I didn’t see a single biker during my brief three-day sojourn.   Many people walk where they need to go on the well maintained network of paths.   

As of September 2014, Gavdos has no hotels, no banks, no ATMs, no post office, no nightclubs, no full time resident doctors.  There is a heliport.  There is one policeman for the 100 or so residents.  I heard his car siren blare when he picked up his daughter from school.   In the 1930s Communist political prisoners were exiled to Gavdos.

I stayed at Sarakinika, the beautiful beach settlement (it can’t possibly qualify as a village) where visitors can rent a smattering of rooms and eat in about a half dozen tavernas, some with wi-fi.  Most folks like myself camped in tents in the coastal dunes amidst the pines trees and Juniperus shrubs less than a minute’s walk to the sea.  I bathed in a rigged up shower on the beach with no curtains but no matter because nudity doesn’t raise eyebrows.   My second shot at bathing was a bust because there was no water in Sarakinika which I’m told happens regularly. 

As you may have guessed, many of the residents are hippies in retreat.  I met Vasilis whose tall frame and long narrow beard evoked what I imagine Pythagoras to have looked like.  Vasilis has lived on Gavdos in a tent for fifteen months.  I guess he has had a full social calendar because he hasn’t even made it to Trypiti yet, which was the highlight of my visit.  I met Antonio from Portugal who epitomized the permanent nomad with his tattoo sleeve and plugs in both ears the size of a one euro coin.   His purpose in life seemed to be moving from one outdoor summer music festival to the next. 

I wanted to sit on The Throne in Trypiti.  This beach is the most southern point on Gavdos island.   Where the gravel road stops is a path that takes thirty minutes walk downhill to reach Trypiti.  At the beach’s most southern tip is a giant chair that faces north towards Europe.  The local Russians built the chair and made the path.  Their small community began with a nuclear physicist fleeing Chernobyl.  They are scientifically attuned to ecological ways to live and they trade their skills for food and other needs.   The locals appreciate them and their presence adds to the mystique and allure of Gavdos. 

You’ve really got to have a low footprint to visit Gavdos.   This is not a place for those expecting mints on their pillow, a pile of ice cubes for your ouzo or to buy a new pair of sunglasses.  Gavdos is raw.    It is a place where the nymph Kalypso is said to have imprisoned the shipwrecked Odysseus holding him as her lover.   I suspect Gavdos has had its share of modern-day Kalypso and Odysseus wannabes. 

By Colleen McGuire
Managing Director of cyclegreece.gr

Strategic since antiquity, in 1579 the Venetians erected a gargantuan fortress befitting of their superpower status, and indeed, its protectors defied Turkish conquest for several decades longer than any other Cretan garrison.  The fort finally fell to Ottoman rule in 1715. 

On a warm October day our cozy group of four Americans and four Greeks planned to kayak over to Spinalonga Island.  From there, we would head down its bay, a short portage, then down Poros Bay to Agio Nikolaos.  At most, the trip was fifteen kilometers.

From Plaka, a local fisherman can probably make the voyage to Spinalonga Island in about twenty minutes.  It took my best friend Pia and me about two hours.

Pia and I had never kayaked.  Our initial hour was spent on land just trying to get a grasp of this sport and its paraphernalia.  We donned life jackets, colorful wetsuits and learned how to put on a “kayak skirt.”  This is a sturdy cloth worn around your waist: when seated in your kayak, you attach the skirt’s hem to the open perimeter of your seat so that water doesn’t enter the boat.  Next were some rudimentary rowing lessons.  We sat on the beach, pretending we were at sea, and went through the motions of manipulating the paddles. 

Pia and I reasoned that, being first-time kayakers, we should operate the two-seater.  Wrong. We didn’t know when to paddle, how to coordinate our rowing or even which direction to face when a strong wind blew.  Not but fifteen minutes after setting out to sea, one moment we were dry, the next moment we were wet.   The boat capsized so suddenly we didn’t even have a chance to shout the proverbial “Man Overboard!”   Sobered by the incident, we took our friends’ advice and got our own kayaks, and discovered that individual navigation was superior to teamwork, at least when the team was clueless in the art of kayaking. 

When we arrived to Spinalonga Island some of us were quite wet and all of us looked a little goofy in our loudly colored kayak mini-skirts. The tourists stared, mostly at Miltos.  While our skirts laid flat, his undulated with a flamboyant pink hem akin to an Argentine tango costume that got shrunk at the cleaners.  For some reason, he kept it on during our entire visit to Spinalonga which prompted endless guffawing. 

After Crete formally united with Greece in 1913, Spinalonga became a leper colony and remained so until 1957.  The island is larger than expected when you peer at it from the Crete mainland. One can easily spend several hours strolling its pathways and perimeters. The elegant Venetian architecture—curved arched portals, for example—contributes to Spinalonga’s beauty, yet a haunting feeling pervades,perhaps attributable to the cemetery whose open graves bear the assumingly impaired bones of the prior inhabitants. 

My afternoon kayaking was far more successful once I got the hang of it. And the disappearance of the winds helped appreciably.  Our group soared along pretty much all together instead of scattered leagues apart as we had been during the morning. The scenery in Spinalonga Bay is breathtakingly spectacular -- mountains in the distance on a blinding shiny blue sea devoid of any other seafarers except the eight of us.  The rock cliffs on the coast mesmerized me: they were wavy, in layers, like slabs of thick uncooked bacon stacked on top of one another, truly of postcard caliber.  One area we paddled to was peculiar as it felt sheltered like inside a cave but actually we were in an open area on the sea. 

If you are inclined towards a little physical activity while vacationing, I heartily recommend sea kayaking in Spinalonga Bay.  Beginners can complete the journey from Plaka to Agio Nikalao, with a pit stop on the island, easily in one day.  By the end of your adventure, you will feel exhilarated by the aquatic workout and gain yet another reason to place Crete high on your list of magnificent Mediterranean islands. 

By Colleen McGuire

Managing Director of cyclegreece.gr

Agorá
Daily
In ancient times Athens' political, administrative and cultural heart, today the Ancient Agora in Monastiraki is a green landscape dotted with crumbling ruins.

Balthazar
Daily
Balthazar is an exclusive bar-restaurant set in a romantic walled garden decorated with fairy lights.

 
Battleship Averoff Museum
Daily
The Battleship Averoff is the most important and impressive surviving naval vessel in the history of the Hellenic Navy. Commissioned in 1911, it served for 44 years.
 

Benaki Museum
Daily; not Tue
Occupying a neo-classical house in Kolonaki, the Benaki Museum offers a walk through the history of Greek art from 3000 BC up to the 20th century. Exhibits are laid out in chronological order.

 Benaki Museum of Islamic Art
Daily; not Mon
The Islamic Museum in Athens, part of the Benaki Museum, has relocated to a bigger building for a better viewing experience. The neoclassical complex houses works from India, Persia, and Asia.

Byzantine & Christian Museum
Daily; not Mon
In its underground exhibition space in Kolonaki, the Byzantine and Christian Museum traces the Byzantine Empire from the birth of Christianity to the 1453 fall of Constantinople.

Centre of Hellenic Tradition
Daily
For orignal souvenirs and gifts, call at the Centre of Hellenic Tradition, which stock authentic Greek folk art.
 

Dimitris Pierides Museum of Contemporary Art
Daily
The Dimitris Pierides Museum of Contemporary Art houses over a thousand paintings, sculptures, engravings and ceramics and includes works by artists from Greece and Cyprus.

Frissiras Museum
Daily; not Mon or Tue
In Plaka, the Frissaras Museum is Greece's only museum to contemporary European painting. There's a permanent collection, dedicated to the human figure, as well as pieces by Hockney.

Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art
Daily; not Tue or Sun
In Kolonaki, the Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art is revered for its collection of elegant marble figurines. Surprisingly contemporary in style, these enigmatic pieces were placed in burial sites.


Kerameikos Archaeological Site
Daily
The Kerameikos was the potters' quarter of classical Athens and also the official cemetery of the city. Today it is a tranquil and fascinating archaeological site, away from the bustle of the city.

Lykavittos
Daily
Athens' highest point, 295 metres high, Mount Lykavittos is served by cable car from Kolonaki. Paths zigzag up through pinewoods to the summit, capped by a whitewashed church and cafe.

Monastiraki Flea Market
Daily
Like an Eastern bazaar, the open-fronted stores of Monastiraki Market stock copperware, backgammon sets, army surplus gear, leather goods and cheap jewellery. On busy Sunday mornings, everyone meets here.

Museum of the City of Athens
Daily; not Tue
The Museum of the City of Athens is housed in a neoclassical building constructed in 1833 which was used as King Otto's temporary palace from 1836-1842.

Museum of Greek Folk Art
Daily; not Mon
The Museum of Greek Folk Art in Plaka displays costumes, embroidery, jewellery, ceramics, arms and folk theatre artefacts from around Greece. Don't miss the Theofilis Room.


Museum of Greek Traditional Instruments
Daily; not Mon or Sun
Hidden away in pretty Plaka, the Museum of Greek Traditional Instruments displays 1,200 musical instruments, ranging from gypsy flutes to shepherds' goatskin bagpipes.
 

National Archaeological Museum
Daily
National Archaeological Museum
Home to the world's finest collection of ancient Greek art, the marble-floored National Archaeological Museum, near Omonia, displays larger-than-life sculptures of heroes from Greek mythology.

National Gallery of Art
Daily; not Tue
Tired of ruins? Make sure you visit the biggest picture and portrait gallery in Greece, the National Gallery, or Ethniki Pinakotheki.


National Gardens
Daily
Designed as the grounds of the 19th-century royal palace, now the Parliament, the National Gardens in Syntagma display lush planting, duck ponds, strutting peacocks and a small zoo.

Numismatic Museum
Daily; not Mon
With a history going back to 1829, Athens' Numismatic Museum is one of the few of its kind in the world and the only such museum in the Balkans. The strength of its collection lies in some of the world's oldest coins.

Plaka
Daily
The Plaka sits in the shadow of the Acropolis in the oldest part of Athens and with most of the streets closed to automobile traffic, it is one of the most pleasant neighbourhoods in the city.

Roman Forum
Daily
From 1BC to 4AD, traders met in the Roman Forum - a rectangular courtyard lined with shops. Also on the site in Plaka stands the octangular Tower of the Winds, built in 1BC by Macedonian workers.

Spyros Vassiliou Museum
Daily
The home and studio of Greek artist Spyros Vassiliou (1902/3-1985) is now open to the public as a museum and archive, becoming the principal authority on the artist.

Stavros Melissinos
Daily; not Sun
Stavros Melissinos began crafting handmade leather sandals in 1954. When poet Stavros retired in 2004, the shop moved to Psirri and is now run by his son, Pantelis.


Technopolis
Daily
The once run-down industrial area of Gazi began its transformation into Athens' most happening nightlife district with the opening of Technopolis in 1999. Occupying the former city gasworks.

Vorres Museum
Daily
The Vorres Museum consists of a complex of ten acres of buildings, courtyards and gardens. Its collection of over 6000 items covers 4000 years of Greek history.

War Museum
Daily; not Mon
The War Museum of Athens explores the history of warfare from stone axes to heavy artillery. Other exhibits cover the classical and medieval period, the Greek War of Independence and conflicts.

Visit The Acropolis Museum

One of the finest architectural diamonds and best museums worldwide. You will be impressed, no matter how many times you visit. Over and over again, the feeling one gets is overwhelming – admiration and awe take over. With the exhibition area occupying 14,000 m2 and the exhibits numbering 4,000, it is understandable that one visit cannot cover all this beauty. There are always details waiting to be discovered. The light coming through the glass engages in a playful motion with the surfaces and the night casts a magical veil on the past and the dynamics of the space. You can only be taken aback by its everlasting splendor. Visit the museum during the winter months when the ticket price is just 5 euros.

Ride Along The Athenian Riviera

Athens Riviera: Faliro, Glyfada, Voula, Vouliagmeni, it doesn’t matter where to – just climb on the tram or the bus line that takes you there and rush to the calling of the sea. Leave the madness of the city behind and relax by viewing the amazing Saronic Gulf. If the weather is appropriate, take a swim and lay on the beach with company, or with the company of a book. If the water is not yet warm enough, get lost in the endless horizon listening to your favorite music. Whatever the case, the ideal time to begin your ride is just before sunset.

Eat ‘Vromiko’ Downtown

As the daylight evaporates, the canteens start getting their fast food ingredients ready. The smell of grilled meat takes over the surrounding streets and neighborhoods, capturing the people that move among them. The sandwich is called ‘vromiko’, which in Greek means ‘dirty’, because it is generously stuffed with full-fat ingredients that create delightful bites. The canteens are scattered in various downtown spots, but the most popular is in Mavili Square, where, after all-night partying, the night walkers gather to claim a tasteful epilogue to their fun.

Visit A Book Bazaar

A journey to the parallel world of books, not only for those capable of reading between the lines! From time to time, the area of Zappeio, Klafthmonos square, Dionisiou Areopagitou Street, host the most famous utdoor book bazaars where you can lose yourself in the pages. With free entrance and special low prices you can buy a rare edition and a book you wouldn’t want your library to miss. These bazaars are not permanent, so you’d better watch out for their opening dates.

Article source: VisitGreece.com 

Archaeological finds on the site date from as early as 700 BC. Herodotus tells us that in the sixth century BC, the Athenians celebrated a quadrennial festival at Sounion, which involved Athens' leaders sailing to the cape in a sacred boat.

The temple at Sounion whose columns still stand today, was probably built in ca. 440 BC. This was during the ascendancy of Athenian statesman Pericles, who also rebuilt the Parthenon in Athens. Today’s standing temple was constructed over the ruins of a temple dating from the Archaic Period. It is perched above the sea at a height of almost 60 m. The design of the temple is a typical hexastyle i.e. it had a front portico with 6 columns. Only some columns of the Sounion temple stand today, but intact it would have closely resembled the contemporary and well-preserved Temple of Hephaestus beneath the Acropolis, which may have been designed by the same architect.
As with all Greek temples, the Poseidon building was rectangular, with a colonnade on all four sides. The total number of original columns was 42: 15 columns still stand today. The columns are of the Doric Order. They were made of locally-quarried white marble. They were 6.10 m (20 ft) high, with a diameter of 1 m (3.1 ft) at the base and 79 cm (31 inches) at the top.

At the centre of the temple colonnade would have been the hall of worship (naos), a windowless rectangular room, similar to the partly intact hall at the Temple of Hephaistos. It would have contained, at one end facing the entrance, the cult image, a colossal, ceiling - height (6m) bronze statue of Poseidon. Probably gold-leafed, it may have resembled a contemporary representation of the god, appropriately found in a shipwreck, shown in the figure above. Poseidon was usually portrayed carrying a trident, the weapon he supposedly used to stir up storms. On the longest day of the year, the sun sets exactly in the middle of the caldera of the island of Patroklou, the extinct volcano that is offshore, suggesting astrological significance for the sitting of the temple.

In a maritime country like Greece, the god of the sea was bound to occupy a high position in the divine hierarchy. In power, Poseidon was considered second only to Zeus (Jupiter), the supreme god himself. His implacable wrath, manifested in the form of storms, was greatly feared by all mariners. In an age without mechanical power, storms very frequently resulted in shipwrecks and drownings.

The temple at Cape Sounion, therefore, was a venue where mariners, and also entire cities or states, could propitiate Poseidon, by making animal sacrifice, or leaving gifts.

Archaeological excavation of the site in 1906 uncovered numerous artefacts and inscriptions, most notably a marble kouros statue and an impressive votive relief, both now in the Athens National Archaeological Museum.

The Legend of Cape Sounion:

According to legend, Cape Sounion is the spot where Aegeus, king of Athens, leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea. The story goes that Aegeus, anxiously looking out from Sounion, despaired when he saw a black sail on his son Theseus's ship, returning from Crete. This led him to believe that his son had been killed in his contest with the dreaded Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull. The Minotaur was confined by its owner, King Minos of Crete, in a specially designed labyrinth. Every year, the Athenians were forced to send 7 men and 7 women to Minos as tribute. These youths were placed in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. Theseus had volunteered to go with the third tribute and attempt to slay the beast. He had agreed with his father that if he survived the contest, he would hoist a white sail. In fact, Theseus had overcome and slain the Minotaur, but tragically had simply forgotten about the white sail.

Source: Wikipedia